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Friday, October 7, 2011

62nd Republic Day-choices from here

As the night sets in I look at the clock ,its 10.08 PM .It's just two hours to go before India moves into its 62nd Republic Day.It is indeed a joyous occasion for all of us.Yet,deep in my heart there is a touch of sadness .As the day progressed today I heard that an honest Additional Deputy Collector was burnt alive in Malegaon.And I questioned myself is this why we choose to be a republic?Did the forefathers of the nation have this picture of India in mind while they were building this nation?

We all have indeed come a long way from being a colony to a superpower in the present world scenario.The American President declared that India has arrived.The WEF in Davos predicts that India will be the largest superpower in terms of economy by 2040.So in 30 years we will do the inevitable we will be the numero uno nation of the world.The theme India Shining seems to be on a high.Yet we all know that today something is deeply wrong in this nation.There is an ulcer which is waiting to burst.The bubble burst however will not be merely economical ,it will encompass larger parameters.,it will grab a larger domain.So as we sit on top of this time bomb called India I ask myself how can this timebomb be defused?And the answer lies in identifying the root problems and taking measures.Thus with this intention in mind I sit down to analyse the 4 big problem that plagues our nation today.

1. Corruption :- A few months ,or just a mere year back we would have been tempted to add the word Terrorism in this position .However in the past few months we have encountered such massive scams that there is no doubt that today Corruption is the biggest worry on our mind.People ask what is the problem with the Hawala Money the Black money .The problem lies in the fact is that this same money can be used by terrorist organization since this money does not leave a paper trail behind.In other sense this money cannot be traced.

Hence it becomes extremely important for us to understand the relevance in the present context.Reports suggest that the Telecom Minister has committed frauds to the tune of Rs. 1.72 lakh crore.The poor people of India doesn't even understand how many zeros are written in a lakh crore.Yet the system has allowed people to get away with that kind of money.On the other hand in the same country the Ranjarajan Committee decries any move to make the Right to Food universal since it will cost the national excheaquer Rs. 70000 crore.So the same nation in which Rs. 1.72 lac crore can be stashed as corruption money ,Rs 70000 crore cannot be manged to feed the poorThe Adarsh housing scam is another example of how immune we have become to the system.There is no respect left even for the fallen martyrs.The nation has indeed steeped to new lows.The Sukhna scam,the Cash for Judges scam the Nira Radia tapes expose that every arm of the nation is corrupt in one way or the other.

And the worst part is that this penchant for corruption has caught on to the new generation as well.So long ahd we heard in the "youth will come save the day " jingle that we had actually started believing it.But reality has struck indeed hard.Today even 24-25 year olds are involved in corruption.Noble professions like Civil Engineering are becoming lucrative for many because government sector jobs in these sectors offer large under table money.Indeed it has become a sad spectacle.The paneca to this problem lies in example from the top.The politicians the bureacrats the top officials have to come out clean.Else this nation is doomed to fail.

2. Internal Security:- While we all eke out fancy deals for fighter jets and aircraft's we all tend to forget that the biggest threat to India lies not from her external threats but from her internal threats.The question of Pakistan or China attacking us in the present context seems anything but prepostrous.The so called external threats merely exist in the minds of a few self proclaimed defence experts and the arms deal lobbyists.

Maoism and Terrorism are indeed two of the biggest challenges that India has to face .And as the experiences have shown over the past two years in Mumbai at Dantewada.We the people the government cannot remain complacent.The biggest way to combat this is stregthen our police and paramalitray forces .They must be trained and equipped in the most modern facilities.A larger sum of the defence budget must be actually spent on arming our internal combat units.Until policing gets strong India will always be vulnerable.If needed the government must think in terms of community policing and other such innnovative ideas.The general public must behave in more informed and vigilant manner.they must be aware of their surroundings.Small steps can go a big way in keeping the country safe.